At the beginning of my journey

[Anonymous]

Hello everybody, I'm new here.  First off, let me say that I appreciate this forum and all of you so much.  The amount of information here is quite overwhelming, but in a good way. Over most of my adult life, I have not paid attention to my credit, which is why it was in the shape it was.  I'm just now beginning to take it seriously and want to work to rebuild and protect my credit.

My story:

7 months post discharged CH7 BK, I have a new car loan, a small personal loan, and was recently approved for two new store cards via the SCT (Overstock & Eddie Bauer). I also openend an account with Navy Federal a couple of months ago, and am thinking of going with their secured Visa card.  Right now, my scores (at least according to Credit Karma and CreditWise) are a few points shy of 600.  I definitely want to get some sort of major credit card just to kind of round things out  First Premier sent me a pre-approval, but I've heard really horrible things about them, even for a sub-prime.

Anyway, there will be lots of questions coming in the future.  Right now, I'm going to dive back in to the forums.

[gdale6]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Hello everybody, I'm new here.  First off, let me say that I appreciate this forum and all of you so much.  The amount of information here is quite overwhelming, but in a good way. Over most of my adult life, I have not paid attention to my credit, which is why it was in the shape it was.  I'm just now beginning to take it seriously and want to work to rebuild and protect my credit.

My story:

7 months post discharged CH7 BK, I have a new car loan, a small personal loan, and was recently approved for two new store cards via the SCT (Overstock & Eddie Bauer). I also openend an account with Navy Federal a couple of months ago, and am thinking of going with their secured Visa card.  Right now, my scores (at least according to Credit Karma and CreditWise) are a few points shy of 600.  I definitely want to get some sort of major credit card just to kind of round things out  First Premier sent me a pre-approval, but I've heard really horrible things about them, even for a sub-prime.

Anyway, there will be lots of questions coming in the future.  Right now, I'm going to dive back in to the forums.

---

Welcome to the board

CK and CW are Fako scores I would use CK only for seeing actual TL info updates. You can get some cards that will give you a free Fico score every month. Walmart and a Barclays card are good and both are friendly to rebuilders though I would hold off since you have 2 open now and get some history under your belt on those cards. DCU will give an EQ Fico score with a Checking/CC combo. Good luck in your journey there is lots of info in these forums for you to absorb. 

[stargazer25]

Definitely get your real credit scores first. I use the medico with the monthly fee that way I can see every time something changes. It gets addicting watching the scores go up. 

Stay away from 1st Premier and Credit One. I would see what the Cap 1 says for a prequal, they are friendly for rebuilders. That's who I started with. My scores were about that when I joined up with them. I started with a $1K secured card, then a platinum, QS1 and finally to a QS with a $4K limit. I just got my first AMEX. 

Its a struggle, but you will get there. 

[Anonymous]

Thank you guys for your quick response and encouragement. I know it's not going to be easy, but I'm determined to turn things around.

stargazer25, what is medico? I did a search for it but couldn't find anything.

[nolamike]

Kitten,

Hi, I too am at the begining of rebuilding and I got my EXP to jump 103 points in less than two months so some of this might help you.

1) please post your scores (FAKO and FICO) in your signature (set up under the myaccount preferences). It helps people make suggestions and gives you a point to track your progress from. we are not being nosy, it just helps others in your same position along with allowing for better suggestions. Remember to update them when they change.

2) You got into NFCU, are you eligible for USAA? if so their secured card reports as unsecured which is good for you. Research any secured card you get to find out how it reports BEFORE you apply. call them if you have to. I think NFCU reports as secured, but they are generous with their graduation to unsecured if I remember correctly.

3) Consider an account with My Jewelers Club which gives you a $5K charge account. You must buy a membership for $99 currently and buy a cheesy piece of their jewelry or watch or something. It can be as little as $50 bucks and you get the same credit line and it reports very fast! It is an SP.

4) for now avoid companies like chase that have a 5/24 rule which means they automatically reject anyone who has opened 5 accounts in the last 24 months. You will probably not be approved right now based on what you say your FAKO scores are, so save the HP inquiries for accounts that will approve you!

5) get familiar with the credit pulls database on the credit boards site (google it). It can give you some ideas which companies are pulling from which CB's and you can see the differences based on geographic region. This is a guide and not a guarantee, but you can then elect to only try to app with companies that use your best reported score.

6) Your credit mix needs help as does  your utilization. Ideally to start you are looking for 3 credit cards (preferably reporting as unsecured cards, see the USAA above) and 1 installment loan (your car loan works for that). With the BK you have want amounts to a thin file and need to fatten it up some.

7) Right now DON'T get too many store cards, in some scoring models they can hurt you a bit if they are not balanced with unsecure lines

8) as StarGazer and GDale said get your real score, even if it is only a one time 3B report from MyFico

9) make sure you are clear on the difference between Vantage Scores and Fico Scores. My own Vatage score was over 100 points lower on all three CRA's when i started this process and have increased but are still way lower than my FICO scores. I use the myFICO $29 a month plan right now and it is worth the money to me.

10) if you got your NFCU membership by joining the Navy League you are also eligible for PENFED which is almost as lenient/good as NFCU.

11) KNOW the statement closing date of every account you have. NOT the must pay by date, the statement closing date. You want to keep your utilization uner 30% and ideally reporting at 9% or less. That is hard with your car loan but not for your store cards or any credit card you get.

12) research banks and credit unions for 'credit rebuilder' or credit builder programs. Be careful and thorough. They can hurt you if you screw them up and charge you very high interest.

13) your AAoA and AoA are a drag on your scores if everything was wiped out in the BK. IF you kept a line open that would have helped these numbers. Only time will fix this.

14) Avoid EMPORIUM and Blispay! they are not your friends!

15) There are many shopping clubs and I would do serious research before joining them other than MJC and Fingerhut which you have.

16) You will see talk of a Shared Savings Loan, which is essentially a secure savings account that you borrow money against. There is a "trick" involving larger personal loans and large SSL's where you get the loan, let it report the high value then pay it off to under 9% immediately keeping the longer time frame and paying only a few dollars a month. That will not help you as your car loan provides the same value.

17) As much as humanly possible pay off your car loan faster. if the term is 36 months try aiming for 18 months etc. this will help you. In fact because of your starting scores, paying it off as soon as possible and then moving to an SSL would really improve your scors. I have no idea how practicle this is for your income but paying that car off in a year and then immediately opening an SSL would really make you look good if you got the utlization down to less than 9% with something like 60 months to pay . I think Alliant is the company most people talk about doing this with.

Here is an oddity for you. The lower your credit scores the harder inquiries harm you and the more new unsecured lines help you. A person with good solid credit might get hit for 1 or 2 points with an inquiry depending on CRA, but a person with only fair or bad credit can be hit with 4 to 9 points per inquiry.

A person with a 750 or above score will not be helped much by a new credit line unless it is for some amazing amount of money that drops their utilization to under 9%

I hope some of that helps you.

Good Luck and keep us up to date, everyone here has been in a simlar place and we are all rooting for your success.

Mike

[Anonymous]

---

@nolamike wrote:

Kitten,

Hi, I too am at the begining of rebuilding and I got my EXP to jump 103 points in less than two months so some of this might help you.

1) please post your scores (FAKO and FICO) in your signature (set up under the myaccount preferences). It helps people make suggestions and gives you a point to track your progress from. we are not being nosy, it just helps others in your same position along with allowing for better suggestions. Remember to update them when they change.

2) You got into NFCU, are you eligible for USAA? if so their secured card reports as unsecured which is good for you. Research any secured card you get to find out how it reports BEFORE you apply. call them if you have to. I think NFCU reports as secured, but they are generous with their graduation to unsecured if I remember correctly.

3) Consider an account with My Jewelers Club which gives you a $5K charge account. You must buy a membership for $99 currently and buy a cheesy piece of their jewelry or watch or something. It can be as little as $50 bucks and you get the same credit line and it reports very fast! It is an SP.

4) for now avoid companies like chase that have a 5/24 rule which means they automatically reject anyone who has opened 5 accounts in the last 24 months. You will probably not be approved right now based on what you say your FAKO scores are, so save the HP inquiries for accounts that will approve you!

5) get familiar with the credit pulls database on the credit boards site (google it). It can give you some ideas which companies are pulling from which CB's and you can see the differences based on geographic region. This is a guide and not a guarantee, but you can then elect to only try to app with companies that use your best reported score.

6) Your credit mix needs help as does  your utilization. Ideally to start you are looking for 3 credit cards (preferably reporting as unsecured cards, see the USAA above) and 1 installment loan (your car loan works for that). With the BK you have want amounts to a thin file and need to fatten it up some.

7) Right now DON'T get too many store cards, in some scoring models they can hurt you a bit if they are not balanced with unsecure lines

8) as StarGazer and GDale said get your real score, even if it is only a one time 3B report from MyFico

9) make sure you are clear on the difference between Vantage Scores and Fico Scores. My own Vatage score was over 100 points lower on all three CRA's when i started this process and have increased but are still way lower than my FICO scores. I use the myFICO $29 a month plan right now and it is worth the money to me.

10) if you got your NFCU membership by joining the Navy League you are also eligible for PENFED which is almost as lenient/good as NFCU.

11) KNOW the statement closing date of every account you have. NOT the must pay by date, the statement closing date. You want to keep your utilization uner 30% and ideally reporting at 9% or less. That is hard with your car loan but not for your store cards or any credit card you get.

12) research banks and credit unions for 'credit rebuilder' or credit builder programs. Be careful and thorough. They can hurt you if you screw them up and charge you very high interest.

13) your AAoA and AoA are a drag on your scores if everything was wiped out in the BK. IF you kept a line open that would have helped these numbers. Only time will fix this.

14) Avoid EMPORIUM and Blispay! they are not your friends!

15) There are many shopping clubs and I would do serious research before joining them other than MJC and Fingerhut which you have.

16) You will see talk of a Shared Savings Loan, which is essentially a secure savings account that you borrow money against. There is a "trick" involving larger personal loans and large SSL's where you get the loan, let it report the high value then pay it off to under 9% immediately keeping the longer time frame and paying only a few dollars a month. That will not help you as your car loan provides the same value.

17) As much as humanly possible pay off your car loan faster. if the term is 36 months try aiming for 18 months etc. this will help you. In fact because of your starting scores, paying it off as soon as possible and then moving to an SSL would really improve your scors. I have no idea how practicle this is for your income but paying that car off in a year and then immediately opening an SSL would really make you look good if you got the utlization down to less than 9% with something like 60 months to pay . I think Alliant is the company most people talk about doing this with.

Here is an oddity for you. The lower your credit scores the harder inquiries harm you and the more new unsecured lines help you. A person with good solid credit might get hit for 1 or 2 points with an inquiry depending on CRA, but a person with only fair or bad credit can be hit with 4 to 9 points per inquiry.

A person with a 750 or above score will not be helped much by a new credit line unless it is for some amazing amount of money that drops their utilization to under 9%

I hope some of that helps you.

Good Luck and keep us up to date, everyone here has been in a simlar place and we are all rooting for your success.

Mike

---

Hi Mike, thank you so much for taking the time to reply.  There is a so much great information in your post and I appreciate and definitely need the guidance.  

I had an account with USAA 10+ years ago that didn't end well, so I don't think I'm eligible to rejoin.  Right now, I have 3 new store cards with very small CLs ($250 each), and I'm going to get a secured CC, either from NFCU or Cap1.  I spoke with NFCU, and the rep assured me that the secured card reports as unsecured.

As for the car, the interest rate on it is ridiculous, which is to be expected I guess, so I would definitely love to pay it off early or refi it.  I've only had it for 7 months, so it's too early to consider a refi, I imagine. I spoke with the lender this morning and she suggested bankrate.com to calculate how much I would need to pay monthly to pay the car off sooner.

Also, I will definitely add the scores I have to my sig. 

[nolamike]

Kitten,

I hope some of it helps you.

If you can you might also try to see if a relative with good credit will make you an AU on one of their older accounts. If I was going that path I would promise to give the card to them when it showed up, still in the envelope sealed. That way they will know you arent using it for purchases just for the entry on your credit report.

I read somewhere that the CRA's had changed how they report the AU relative to AAoA and AoA but I am not sure. The credit line showing will help you if they have good credit and always pay on time.

As for NFCU reporting unsecured, that is great. If it was me I would be asking others on here who have that card to verify how it is reported. not that a bank rep would mislead anyone /SNARK.

On the car loan, if it is a new car (less than 2 years old) and has four doors consider driving part time for Uber or Lyft and using that money to pay down the note. if you clear 300 extra a week doing that you could buy it down at 1200 a month which would payoff at a good clip.

Once you get it to below 50% of original amount refi at a decent interest rate should not be a problem and all the on time payments would have boosted your scores to boot.

Keep us all posted we are rooting for you!

Mike

[Anonymous]

Thank you again Mike, you are awsome!

So, I managed to get a bunch of personal info errors removed from my reports.  At least the CRA reps said they would remove them.  I guess I'll have to wait the 2 weeks to see what my updated reports look like.

Also, there was a closed, charged off account from Macys reporting me as an AU.  I called Macys credit department this morning and requested to be removed as AU. The rep I spoke with took my info and said she would send a request to the CRAs to have the account removed.

All in all, I'm feeling very positive about this journey.  Now, if I could just find that luv button all the kids are talking about. 

[nolamike]

Kitten,

I am glad you are getting those things removed but I am a little confused why you would go through hold-hell to get that done.

I assume you know you are entitled to a free annual credit report from all the 3 major CRA's as well as Innovis and Lexis Nexis.

The big 3 all have an online dispute form, and it saves time on the personal information removals.

Cleaning up some of that can make your report less of a mess. I am a disabled combat vet and a lot of my addresses were APO and FPO for over 2/3 of my life however my CR had a dozen addresses that were not mine, but no accounts opened just addresses of places I never lived, including states I have never lived in. If you are in an industry that checks credit for employment than this can make a difference.

I am waiting on the Innovis and Lexis Nexis reports in the mail to see if they are the source of those messed up addresses.

Make sure all your reports show an employer and if possible long term one. If they don't you can request to have one added through the online dispute forms.

It is awesome that Macy's was so easy to get to do that. I see the scores now in your sig, and that is a starting point.

I will share with you a "trick" (or at least a way to get things done) if you have to call to dispute any type of account on your report.

Make sure that you are speaking to someone in the U.S. and if they are denying you (and you are right to dispute the item) demand to speak to a Manager, not a supervisor but a manager. It makes a difference at EQ and EXP. The managers can speak directly to the folks who have the technical permissions to drop stuff off a report immediately. I had a fed tax lien dropped off in less than  24 hours.

Anyway, glad you are entering 2017 on a positive path with your credit! Keep it up!

Mike

[Anonymous]

---

@nolamike wrote:

Kitten,

I am glad you are getting those things removed but I am a little confused why you would go through hold-hell to get that done.

I assume you know you are entitled to a free annual credit report from all the 3 major CRA's as well as Innovis and Lexis Nexis.

The big 3 all have an online dispute form, and it saves time on the personal information removals.

Cleaning up some of that can make your report less of a mess. I am a disabled combat vet and a lot of my addresses were APO and FPO for over 2/3 of my life however my CR had a dozen addresses that were not mine, but no accounts opened just addresses of places I never lived, including states I have never lived in. If you are in an industry that checks credit for employment than this can make a difference.

I am waiting on the Innovis and Lexis Nexis reports in the mail to see if they are the source of those messed up addresses.

Make sure all your reports show an employer and if possible long term one. If they don't you can request to have one added through the online dispute forms.

It is awesome that Macy's was so easy to get to do that. I see the scores now in your sig, and that is a starting point.

I will share with you a "trick" (or at least a way to get things done) if you have to call to dispute any type of account on your report.

Make sure that you are speaking to someone in the U.S. and if they are denying you (and you are right to dispute the item) demand to speak to a Manager, not a supervisor but a manager. It makes a difference at EQ and EXP. The managers can speak directly to the folks who have the technical permissions to drop stuff off a report immediately. I had a fed tax lien dropped off in less than  24 hours.

Anyway, glad you are entering 2017 on a positive path with your credit! Keep it up!

Mike

---

First of all, thank you for your service. Guys like you are the reason I can spend time worrying about my horrible credit instead hiding under the bed worrying about bombs dropping in my backyard.

Actually, the longest hold time was around 3 minutes. I was able to reach a live rep fairly quickly. I pulled all 3 of my reports from the free site, and that's when I noticed the name screwups. The main reason I decided to call was because there were - and I'm not exaggerating - 8 additional spelling variations of my name listed on my reports, and I have a fairly common name.  ALL 3 of them had name issues, but EQ had the most.

In regards to showing an employer, my reports do show my current employer, but can I add a previous employer if I was there a long time?